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Weekly ForceCast: September 30, 2011
It's all about the Blu this week as we finally have a chance to sit down and talk about what we like, love, and meh about the recently released Star Wars: The Complete Saga box set. From the box art to the picture and sound quality to the never-ending No-gate debate, we cover it all on this special single-topic Weekly ForceCast. '' Guests *Guests go here. Topics *Fan Days IV Update **Jason announces that he won't be able to make it because something unavoidable came up at the last minute. **Jimmy reads through some schedule highlights, including a "Fan Boys Unite" panel with Kyle Newman, Jaime King, and Ernie Cline. **The ForceCast is giving away a pair of FD4 Priority Passes. To win, fans must tweet about the convention, including @forcecast, #fandays, and the Sci•Fi Expo show URL. The giveaway runs through Sunday. *Jason reminds listeners to check out The ForceCast's first-ever official video podcast. The show, hosted by Jimmy Mac and produced by J.C. Reifenberg from Hughes the Force, featured "blue carpet" coverage of ''The Clone Wars Season 4 premiere event in Long Beach, California. Jimmy says that he expects to release two more video reports of his premiere coverage. *Pete Vilmur and Ryder Windham's comprehensive book The Complete Vader will be released on October 18, 2011, after a two-year production-related delay. Jason says that listener who are interested in the book should check out their Microcast interview with the authors from September 2009. "It's kinda like the Vault," Jason says of the book. *New York Comic Con will play host to [http://theforce.net/latestnews/story/NY_Comic_Con_Star_Wars_Guests_Events_140668.asp a range of Star Wars activities and celebrities]. Official Star Wars artist Kevin Liell will be hosting his Star Wars Trivia Contest, and Jimmy says that the first ten ForceCast listeners to mention the show to Kevin will get a special Star Wars patch created just for NYCC. Additionally, friends of the show High Adventure will be performing at the convention. *Jason and Jimmy launch into a comprehensive review of Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray by playing part of Jennifer Landa's "Star Wars Blu-ray Rap". **''Star Wars: The Complete Saga'' set Blu-ray sales records in the week following its release. Jimmy says that the various Internet protests seem to have done little to diminish the set's success. "I don't know how, if you are a fan of these films, how you could not wanna own them on Blu-ray at this point," Jason says. Reading from the report, Jason says that the sales record was specifically for "catalog titles" (those that have already been released on a previous format). Jason and Jimmy both say that they expect sales to soar during the holiday season. Jimmy notes that he bought a Blu-ray player specifically to watch this set. **Jason and Jimmy both note the immense improvement in picture quality on the Blu-ray set. Jason says that the title crawls in particular were noticeably sharper and clearer, and Jimmy says that C-3PO seems to pop out of the screen with the increased quality. They both say that the improved resolution encourages renewed exploration of background details, just as fans did when the detail-rich Prequel Trilogy hit theaters. **Jimmy reports on his Blu-ray watch progress. So far, he's watched everything on the first two bonus discs. When he brings up the "Archives Fly-through" special feature, Jason says that it may be the best bonus feature he's ever seen. **Jason discusses the packaging and art of the disc-holder. "Not having any artwork on the discs...it just felt like it was almost like a promo copy...it was kinda disappointing." **Jason and Jimmy talk about the bonus features. Jason says that he didn't notice the "Play All" option for the deleted scenes until Jimmy told him about it. Both hosts note the lack of a Kamino archives bonus feature before joking about Jocasta Nu and speculating that the feature may be a hidden Easter egg. Jimmy points out the inclusion of Steven Spielberg's ROTS animatic (the Boga chase). Jason says that, with the exception of the Yoda duel, none of the animatics did "a whole lot for me." (He later adds that he really enjoyed the Order 66 animatic.) Jimmy recommends that fans watch the recorded Lucasfilm writers' meeting where George Lucas discusses the nature of the Force and shares his early notes from A New Hope. The video can be found on the Original Trilogy bonus disc. Jason agrees, saying that if you can only watch one bonus feature, that's the one to watch. **Jimmy shares his thoughts on the various changes to Return of the Jedi. He also observes that some of the laser blasts in A New Hope look like they were digitally enhanced. **Jimmy says that they should get in as much of their Blu-ray analysis as possible on this show, because there won't be a regular show next week due to Fan Days IV. He also tells listeners to look for special Fan Days shows dropping over the next weekend. **Jason says that they might do reviews and analysis of individual bonus features in the coming months. Jimmy concurs, adding that they should always keep in mind that the six films on this set represent "the core" of Star Wars. **Jason and Jimmy play voicemails and read emails with their listeners' reactions and responses to the Blu-ray set. **The two hosts end the show by reading a list of the "Top 15 Changes That Should Be On The Star Wars Blu-ray Set." Significant quotes *Jason (on the NYCC SW Trivia Contest): "Kevin Liell is the Alex Trebek of Star Wars." 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